Insulation for piping



April 9, 1957 J. SCOVRONEK 2,788,304

INSULATION FOR PIPING Filed May 11, 1954 INVENTOR Josnw flared/M42 BY 50d 3M ATTO R N EYS' United rates Patent:

INSULATION FOR PIPING Joseph Scovronek, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application May 11, 1954, Serial No. 428,909

1 Claim. (Cl. 154-44) This invention relates to insulation, and particularly insulating material for piping wherein bodies of insulating material of tubular or hemi-cylindrical shapes are made from high temperature insulating material and applied to the surfaces of piping which are to be insulated.

In the use of such insulating bodies on piping and the like, there is a tendency of the insulating material to bind to the piping when the pipe is heated, resulting in a breakage of the insulation and often in a complete rupture or chipping of the inner edge when the insulation is removed from the piping to inspect the piping.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an insulating body which will avoid binding to the piping without aifecting either the insulating value or the closeness of the original mechanical fit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for making such bodies of insulation.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an insulating body embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view showing steps in the formation of the body; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view with the insulation applied to piping.

Basically the invention comprises the bevelling or relieving of the edges of the inner surface of the insulating body. As shown in Fig. 1, the body of insulating material has an inner semi-circular surface 11 and an outer semi-circular surface 12 and edges 13. The extremities or surfaces 14 of the inner surface 11 are bevelled outwardly, preferably forming an angle, shown as a, of approximately 30 with the tangent to the inner surface.

When the bodies of insulating material are applied to the piping, as shown in Fig. 3, the bevelled surfaces 14 are spaced from the piping 15. In addition to the advantage of preventing the binding of the insulation to the hot pipe, the novel insulating structure provides a pocket of entrapped air at the juncture of the insulating bodies, serving as an insulating barrier of great effectiveness.

The bevelled surface may be applied to the insulating body after the body has been molded by grinding, cutting or scraping, or the parts may be so molded. According to one method of manufacture of the body, the body is moved along its longitudinal axis past a series of grinding wheels which form the bevelled surfaces. An apparatus such as that shown in Fig. 2 may be used wherein the body 10 is guided, by surfaces 16 and 17, past grinding wheels 18 and 19 rotated by motors 20 and 21 respectively.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In insulation for piping, the combination comprising a plurality of bodies of insulating material, each said body having a longitudinally extending arcuate groove therein extending throughout the entire length thereof, the radius of curvature of said groove being uniform throughout the entire length of said groove, each said body having a surface adjacent each longitudinal periphery of its respective groove, each said surface lying in a radial plane intersecting the radius of curvature of said longitudinal groove, the area of juncture of each longitudinal periphery of said groove and the radially innermost edge of said radial surface being bevelled throughout the entire length thereof, whereby the longitudinally extending arcuate grooves of said bodies may be brought into contact with the periphery of said pipe with the radial surfaces in face-to-face contact to thereby insulate said pipe, the bevelled edges cooperating to form a generally triangular space adjacent the surface of said pipe, said space preventing binding of said insulating bodies due to changes in temperature of said pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,822 Suhr Feb. 12, 1889 438,507 Tracey Oct. 14, 1890 1,177,256 Lemb Mar. 28, 1916 1,921,648 Brumeister Aug. 8, 1933 2,585,990 Baldenhofer Feb. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,721 Great Britain July 3, 1896 377,020 Great Britain July 21, 1932 603,278 Germany Sept. 26, 1934 

